Friday, August 26, 2011

Today I have a great guest post from Kimberly Freeman, the author of Wildflower Hill. I reviewed the book this week and have to say that it was a fantastic epic that really dealt with some startlingly deep issues. Today, Kim shares with us a little about her creative space, where she toils away creating books that will electrify and enmesh readers. So please welcome Kim, and stay tuned after the guest post for a great giveaway!

Welcome to my world.

As long as I can remember, I have been making up stories. When I was a child, imaginary friends simply weren't enough. I wanted them to do things, preferably things I couldn't do myself (like fight dragons or drive cars). I filled notebook after notebook with stories. I'll never forget the time I left one of my notebooks, with a half-finished story in it, on the bus. I was so distraught! My father called the council to ask if it had been found, and they said, "We have a notebook here, but it doesn't have the name Kim on it. It has the name Queenie McCartney." Yep, that was it. Queenie McCartney was my imaginary crime-solving buddy.

One of my favourite things about making up stories was always finding the right place to write. I inhabited many cubbies and nooks over the years, decorating them with pictures, hiding them from the world with curtains or bookcases. For me, the trip down the rabbit-hole was so much more fun if I had everything I needed around me (especially lots and lots of new stationery... oh how I love new stationery!!!), and if I knew I wouldn't be interrupted.

I still love writing more than anything (except perhaps my children), and I still have a special writing place that I go to. I have a lovely office looking out into the trees and out to Mount Coot-tha. This photograph was taken with my iPhone on a winter afternoon. Winter here in Brisbane is utterly sublime: the sun always shines, the sky is big and blue, the wind is high and soft in the treetops, and my cats always end up on my lap or across the back of my chair. You can see my desk is very neat. I love a sense of order all around me. You can probably also see I have a cup of tea. I have a low tolerance of caffeine so can only have two cups of tea a day: one at breakfast, and the other I save for writing time. And no doubt you can also see that I still have a stationery fetish.

So Wildflower Hill was written in this space, looking out into those trees, and drinking tea out of that cup. I loved every moment of creating Beattie's and Emma's world, and I hope that readers love it just as much.

Thanks for sharing your writing space with us, Kim! I have to admit I’m a lover and collector of stationary as well. All those pretty papers and envelopes just get me all a-twitter!

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comments:

I love this guest post! I wrote stories in a notebook too when I was little, and a teacher caught me writing in it while she was lecturing. It's good to know I wasn't the only one with a precious notebook. :)

Thank you Heather and Kimberly for this terrific post! You have a beautiful spot to write in, Kim. I would think it'd be difficult to pull yourself away from there. But I love your story about when you were little girl! You knew your career early in life!

I am a big fan of stationery of all kinds, too. I wonder if that is some how connected to books because I know so many book lovers who adore stationery as well.

What a great guest post! I love the photo of her writing space- I love to see where writers write. And like a lot of folks, I wish I had all the notebooks I used to write in as a kid! now I'm addicted to blank books but never fill them with anything, LOL

Her writing space looks serene and conducive to thinking and writing. I enjoyed reading this guest post, and have entered the giveaway, which I will add to my blog's sidebar. Thanks for hosting this, Zibilee!

Queenie McCartney?! I love it -- how hilarious/adorable! I'm an avid diary keeper (I have since I was 10!) and it took me a while to get around to naming my diary (weirdly enough, considering how much I love anthropomorphizing things).

I also love learning about where a writer works so I loved the pic -- thank you for this lovely guest post! I've heard such good things about Wildflower Hill!